Vanessa, Her Love Story

"Vanessa, Her Love Story" is a bad film and I can understand why Helen Hayes took a break from movies after making this one. Despite a lush look and wonderful cast, the script is simply a mess...seldom making sense and offering little of interest.

The film begins at the Harries family matriarch's 100th birthday. This is odd, as through the course of most of the film the old lady thrives and she must be nearly 110 by the end of the movie...perhaps even older!! At the celebration you meet the main characters--Benjamin (Robert Montgomery), Vanessa (Hayes) and Ellis (Otto Kruger). Benjamin is a bit of a wild guy and although he wants to marry Vanessa, he wants to sow a few more wild oats and they agree to marry....later. However, just before their wedding, Vanessa's father has a heart attack and accidentally sets the house ablaze. Benjamin arrives to save her but it's too late for the father. Inexplicably, Vanessa blames Benjamin for the fire and tells him she never wants to see him again. All of this is 100% illogical.

Benjamin leaves and soon marries a woman who is unfaithful. He then joins the army and loses an arm. When he returns, he finds Vanessa has married Ellis...a hopelessly paranoid and insane guy whose family hid this from Vanessa. She is miserable, Benjamin is miserable and Ellis constantly assumes his wife is cheating on him and plots to kill her. What happens from here on, see the movie....but I wouldn't bother. The bottom line is that the film looks nice but the plot is hopelessly convoluted and bizarre...and quite syrupy sweet to the point of annoyance.

So many great kings of old hollywood in here.. Montgomery ( heart-throb of the 1930s and 1940s), Helen Hayes (TWO oscars!), Lewis Stone (the stately older gentleman in Grand Hotel, and so many other films), Henry Stephenson (everyone's uncle or grandfather). Oscar nominated May Robson. Even Jessie Ralph made all those films with WC Fields. This is a story about bad timing.. .probably an experience we've ALL had in our lives; we fall for someone who isn't free at the time. or maybe it's ourself who isn't available, an opportunity missed and lost. and bagpipes. did I mention it takes place in Scotland, so of course there are bloody bagpipes. Moves along, if not very fast. It IS a period piece, after all. It starts well. but gets rather slow in the middle while "Benjie" is off to war... bad decisions. lost love. bad timing. This one shows up on Turner Classic now and then. Directed by William Howard; he had started in the silents in the 1920s, continued into the talkies. Story by Hugh Walpole, who had also written "Kind Lady" (both film versions!) Kind Lady is so much better than Vanessa..

This film starts off with the 100th birthday of the matriarch of the Herries family, which traces its origin back to "Rogue" Herries in the 1700s, who sounds like some kind of William Wallace character with a very wild streak. The matriarch (Madame Judith Paris played by May Robson) talks about how every now and again another rogue is born into this now respectable family. Cue the late entry to the party of dashing Benjamin Herries (Robert Montgomery) as that implied spiritual heir of Rogue Herries, also cue the figure of Vanessa Paris, Judith's granddaughter,, looking like her heart just leapt in her chest.

So Benjamin and Vanessa are in love, but Benjamin wants a year to travel the world and get that wild streak out of him before settling down. Distant cousin Ellis Herries (Otto Kruger) is in love with Vanessa and is the settled type who can offer her a lifetime of security and boredom. So Benjamin returns a year later, and he and Vanessa agree to marry, and this is when the parade of tragedy tropes begin to occur.

Some of the tragedies are foreseeable, some are downright predictable, but then the oddball ones begin to pile on to the point that the entire thing becomes ridiculous. Two things really stand out as not ridiculous but rather weird. The first one is Guinness Book of World Records weird. May Robson is playing a woman of 100 in the late 19th century when this film starts. It is not said exactly, but I count about 15 years passing, and yet the woman is still alive at the end, walking on her own power, and in complete control of her mental faculties. The second one - I guess you'd just have to be British. There is everybody just fawning over and falling over one another at just the appearance of any British royal - Prince Edward and Queen Victoria in particular. Oh well, I guess if you spent the latter part of the 20th century watching "Windsors behaving badly" it does just not seem such a big deal to see somebody whose claim to fame is nothing more than exiting the right birth canal.

What saves this one? The acting skills of the fiery Robson, the dashing Robert Montgomery, and the versatile Hayes in particular, and the strength of the supporting cast of MGM stalwarts in general. I also liked how the film did not try to falsely paint Helen Hayes, primarily a stage actress, as some kind of great beauty. Montgomery, towards the end, as Benjamin, actually states that it is not that Vanessa (Hayes' character) is beautiful, it is just that overall she has a unique kind of loveliness.

This is probably a take it or leave it proposition for most people, but if you are a Robert Montgomery completist as I am, you'll probably want to see it once.

The lead players really make this one work. Without Robert Montgomery and Helen Hayes topping the cast Vanessa Her Love Story could have been one weary and dreary Victorian melodrama. For Hayes except for a brief appearance in Stage Door Canteen in 1943, this film marked her farewell to Hollywood and her return to Broadway until the mid 50s.

Montgomery and Hayes seem destined for the altar when a family tragedy for Hayes disrupts their engagement. Montgomery marries barmaid Agnes Anderson who dies along with their child.

Hayes marries Otto Kruger whom she discovers carries madness in his genetics. Montgomery loses an arm, it's hinted that it's in the Sudan with the presence of a young Lord Kitchener in the cast. That finishes him for the service.

Back in the United Kingdom the two rediscover each other but Kruger won't let her go. The two become a notorious item.

Interesting that the three principal cast members of this film are not British. Montgomery and Hayes are Americans and Kruger is from South Africa. The rest of the cast is divided equally between British and non-British players. Of course with Henry Stephenson playing the chronicler of all the events of this story this IS a British story. He's usually the kind of civilized fellow the British like to see themselves as. He's the character of Hugh Walpole, the novelist who wrote the book this film is based on.

Montgomery and Hayes make it all work somehow. I doubt will see a remake of Vanessa Her Love Story, way too old fashioned for today's taste.

I would say, that I enjoyed this movie, to a certain extent..... Because, it was romantic, touching, and it starred Robert Montgomery...... One of my fave actors, from the golden age...... He, and Helen Hayes had pleasant chemistry in this movie...... Right beside, Joan Crawford, as his best leading ladies....... Their likable chemistry, almost managed to distract me, from how dated, and old fashioned this movie was..... Which is the main reason, why the film didn't succeed in all ways...... Also, there were poor, dull, dated performances, from the miscast actor, who played Ellis, Vanessa's insane husband, and the barmaid woman...... There were some parts, that were unnecessary for the story, and made no effect anyway....... For example, about Robert Montgomery marrying the barmaid woman..... Many situations happened too quickly, like when Vanessa gets angry w/ Benjie, and then forgives him so quickly....... The film could've been stretched longer...... Otherwise, for those who enjoy romance movies, this is worth a look...... I also look forward, to watching other Robert & Helen Hayes movies soon......